State police in Butler wrote in a news release that they were called to Middendorf Street in Marion about 2 p.m. for a report that a 17-year-old boy "pointed an AK-type rifle" at four family members -- ages 1 to 54 -- and "told them they had 10 minutes to leave the house."

When someone told the boy that police were on their way, he ran into the woods. Troopers said they found him about three hours later, when he surrendered, unarmed at the edge of the woods. The boy then led troopers through the woods, pointing them to a rifle, a bayonet and six live rounds of ammunition.

Police said they plan to charge the boy as a juvenile with making terroristic threats, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person.

The article did not state how the boy got the weapons.

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.

Eliezer Sanchez Jr., 19, was arraigned on a manslaughter charge Sunday afternoon for shooting Jessica Saldivar in the head about 5 a.m. Saturday at a house in the 6800 block of South Azul Lane. Municipal Judge Rodolfo “Rudy” Martinez set Sanchez’s bond at $50,000.

Sanchez told police investigators that he had pulled the trigger of the .38-caliber revolver not knowing that it was loaded, according to the criminal complaint. Four witnesses provided sworn statements that the shooting was accidental.

Saldivar was rushed to the hospital where she later died about 3 a.m. Sunday.

Sunday, July 29, 2012

A 12-year old child was with other children at a party in his home, in Phoenix, Arizona, when the child's father unintentionally shot and wounded the child while handling his gun. The father then fled the scene.

A 7-year old girl, Abigail Benway, was found shot to death in a home in Oxford, Massachusetts. Her father, 41-year old Daryl Benway, was also found shot to death from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Abigail's 9-year old brother, Owen, was also found shot in the head, but alive. He is now in critical condition.

Daryl Benway had recently separated from his wife, Kelleen, the mother of the two children with him.

Daryl had no previous criminal record, and he had a conceal carry permit that expired in 1999.

A man who had recently separated from his wife shot his two children, killing his 7-year-old daughter, before committing suicide, prosecutors said.

A family member called police Saturday night after finding the bodies of 41-year-old Daryl Benway and his daughter, Abigail, in the master bedroom of their two-story Oxford home, Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. said.

Benway's 9-year-old son, Owen, was found shot in the head in the kitchen and was taken to UMass Memorial Children's Medical Center in serious condition. Owen has been in pediatric intensive care, a spokesman for Early said Sunday. He said he had no additional information about Owen Benway's condition, and a hospital spokeswoman would not comment.

Benway's wife, Kelleen, returned home after the shootings, unaware of what had happened, and found a swarm of police cruisers and television crews, Early said. She was taken to the children's hospital, where authorities told her the fates of her children and husband.

An 11-year old girl and her mother were walking in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, when a man got out of his car and shot both of them. Luckily neither were killed. Police say this was the result of a domestic dispute.

The shooting happened on Ryder Drive, off Perkins between Staring and Kenilworth. Police say a 28-year-old woman was shot in the mid-section and is in critical condition. An 11-year-old girl, the woman's niece, was shot in the leg and is in stable condition.

Police say the two were walking on the sidewalk when the suspect got out of his car and fired multiple shots.

Police are saying that this is a domestic dispute. They are searching for the shooter, who was last seen driving a newer model, two-door red Camaro.

A 4-year old boy, Kyrell Kyyon McNeill, went into an unoccupied truck, in Woodbridge, Virginia, and found a loaded, unsecured gun. He unintentionally discharged the weapon, hitting himself in the head. He died at the scene.

Next-door neighbor Javiar Garcia used to give quarters to the boy, and enjoyed watching the child push his scooter up and down the sidewalk that runs in front of their homes.

He had just parked his own car after running an errand when he heard the mother's screams and rushed to help.

"She said 'My baby's dead. My baby's dead,'" he said.

"I saw the baby in the back seat with (his body) down, and they had blood around and a little hole in his head too, and I said 'Oh my God, we have to call 9-11,"" he said.

The mother had already phoned to ask for help, he told 9News Now.

Neighbors expressed sadness and concern for the family, but one had strong feelings about what should happen next.

"My opinion is that the owner should be charged.

"Whether it's an illegal, weapon or a legal weapon, he should have had his vehicle locked," said neighbor Dave Brain.

From another article:

[Grandmother] Lylla Scales says she doesn't blame anyone for the accident that claimed the life of her grandson, Kyrell McNeill, but she does think that there are too many guns available.

"I hate guns. I realize that in certain jobs you have to have them or they're required of you, but there are too many," Scales says.....Scales says she was told Kyrell got into the locked pickup truck and got a hold of the gun by climbing through the sliding back window.

Scales says she last saw her grandson a little more than a week ago. She says he loved to come over and play, especially basketball. He was really excited about starting school in the fall.

She says she can't bring herself to accept the fact that he's gone, and the fact that he was taken away so suddenly and so tragically.

"I hate it. I hate to think that he left like that, so young," says Scales.

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.

A 13-year old boy in Culloden, Georgia, had been shooting at armadillos in the yard with a .22-caliber rifle. The boy and girl were from Connecticut and were visiting their grandmother's home. Afterward he came inside and put the gun on his bed, thinking it was unloaded. While he was talking with his 6-year old sister, Jenn Stanovich, in the doorway to the room, the gun fell to the floor and discharged, hitting his sister.

Authorities say only one shot was fired from the weapon, a .22-caliber rifle. It was discharged inside the family's home.

According to the incident report, the brother told sheriff's officers that he had come back inside after hunting armadillos in the backyard. He went into the bedroom and attempted to clear and unload his rifle. The brother told officers that he believed that the rifle was unloaded and he placed it on the bed. He said he knocked the rifle onto the floor where it discharged. The bullet hit his sister who was talking to the boy in the doorway.

The bullet hit 6-year-old Jenn in the wrist and abdomen.

She was taken to the Medical Center of Central Georgia where she passed away shortly thereafter.

Sheriff's investigators were immediately dispatched to the scene. Spokeswoman Allison Selman-Willis told 13WMAZ that they do not suspect foul play but that their investigation is continuing.

The girl's body has been sent to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's crime lab for autopsy.

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.

Friday, July 27, 2012

An 8-year-old boy is dead after he was shot near Kieler, in far southwestern Wisconsin.

The Grant County Sheriff's Office was notified Friday that a boy had been accidentally shot with a gun. The boy was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after deputies and emergency medical crews arrived.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

A man who was checking out at a Dallas, Texas, Wal-Mart unintentionally discharged his loaded, concealed gun. The round hit him in the buttocks. Fragments from the bullet then hit a woman and a 5-year old child.

Todd Canady, 23, of Waco had allegedly bolted from the store in the
Lake Highlands district Monday night when he was confronted by an
off-duty police officer about the shooting, which left a woman and a
5-year-old child wounded.

Police told the Dallas Morning News they grabbed Canady after a short
foot pursuit and booked him on charges of injuring a child and evading
arrest.

KDFW-TV, Dallas/Fort Worth, said Canady, who has a concealed-weapons
permit, was reportedly reaching for his wallet in the checkout line but
grabbed the pistol he was carrying instead. The gun went off, wounding
Canady in the buttocks. The bullet then hit the floor and sent fragments
into the other two victims.

An off-duty officer saw the incident and confronted Canady, who allegedly ran off.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

A group of teens were at a "sweet sixteen" party in Bridgeport, Connecticut, when two men opened fire on the home. On the porch were three teenagers. 15-year old Keijahnae "Nu Nu" Robinson was struck in the head and died from her wound. A 15-year old boy and a 17-year old girl were also wounded, but are recovering.

Peppered with questions, Williamson could only answer: "Why my sister?
Who's giving out these guns? What happened to that curfew?"
....
"We're losing our babies out there," said Newton, whose daughter, Kayla, was a classmate of Robinson's at both the New Life Academy and until Saturday Bullard-Havens Technical High School. "I'm telling families we got to get together and do something. Today it was Nu Nu. Tomorrow it could be your child."
....
Not long before the shooting, Robinson and her two friends left a Sweet 16 birthday party at the White Eagle Club
on East Washington Avenue. Club security cut the party short after a
fight broke out. Everyone was sent home, until a parent invited the
departing guests to resume the festivities at her Brooks Street home.
Robinson and two friends accepted the invite and were talking on the
porch at 449-51 Brooks St. when two gunmen perched at the corner of
Stillman and Brooks streets opened fire, striking the trio. Witnesses
saw them flee east on Stillman Street in a dark-colored car.

Several residents of the area described hearing three shots, and one
said the apparent target of the attack ran up 50th Avenue to escape.
Although the attack's timing and location - midafternoon, in front of a
fire station - were particularly brazen, several residents said gunshots
are not uncommon in the neighborhood.

A 14-year old girl and her 15-year old brother were at home in Rockford, Illinois, when two men broke in and attacked them. The boy was beaten up, and the girl was shot one time because she wouldn't stop crying.

A mother in Clarksville, Tennessee, was working in her kitchen while her 3-year old and 10-month old children were playing in another room. That's when she heard a gunshot and found that her 3-year old had found the family's unsecured, loaded handgun. The child sustained a wound to the foot.

The preliminary investigation by Detective Tracy Woodruff indicated
that the child had found the handgun unsecured and started to play with
it on the couch. The child was on the couch when he discharged the
Spring Armory XD, 9 mm, into his foot. There was a bullet hole located
on the couch where the child was playing with the gun. Additionally,
besides the mother , there was also a 10 month old child inside of the
residence at the time of the discharge.

The investigation is ongoing and no charges have been filed.

....
This is the second incident of a child discharging an unsecured
firearm. The last one occurred on July 8, 2012 and a 6 year old child
discharged a firearm that was left unattended.

Police are recommending that anyone with firearms to ensure
they are properly secured for the safety of adults and children in the
residence.

Here's a better idea. If there are children in the home, don't have a gun in the home.

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.

According to an article from the Denver Post today, five children other than Veronica were admitted to Children's Hospital in Aurora. So far, three have been released. Names and ages were not released in that article. But other sources give more specifics.

"As people ran this gunman, or gunmen, opened fire hitting people," Joseph said. "Police sources have told us there are 10 bodies inside the cinema, most of them children or teenagers, and one baby."

"A baby was shot at point blank range, the family were [sic] gathered around screaming," he clarified.

The baby was reportedly taken to a local Children's Hospital, though ABC News revealed that the infant was released from the hospital and was not that seriously injured. Several other young children were also among the wounded, including a 6-year-old boy who was also taken to the hospital.

Commentators on various social media sites, such as Twitter, have used the incident to raise the question of how wise it is to bring very young children to midnight movie screenings of violent movies. "The Dark Knight Rises" is Rated PG-13, which means that children under 13 years of age can still see the movie if they are accompanied by an adult.

We will post more in the future as more is revealed on the child victims of the Aurora shooting.
.

4-year old Lloyd Morgan was playing at a playground in the Bronx, New York, while a basketball game was being played nearby. The game was being played in memorium for a young woman killed a year before.

An argument broke out in the basketball game. Shots were fired.

One of those bullets hit Lloyd, killing him. Two young men were also wounded.

The gunfire broke out on a basketball court during a game that was being played as part of a memorial for a victim of violence, a woman who died here more than a year ago, residents said.

Little Lloyd Morgan, who was caught in the crossfire when gunshots erupted around 9:30 p.m. in the park in the Forest Houses in Morrisania, was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
"My baby is gone," said his mother, Shianne Norman.

Authorities say two other men were also shot. A 27-year-old was shot in the stomach and a 21-year-old was shot in the arm. Both are expected to survive.

"A massive amount of shots just out of the blue, and then another massive amount of shots out of the blue, and then my baby was gone," his mother sobbed.

Residents described chaos as people began running throughout the park and parents grabbed their children.

10-year old Christian Clark and his sister, 7-year old Halee Clark, were playing in their grandfather's hunting RV, in Dix, Illinois. There were a number of unsecured guns in the RV. Halee picked up a loaded rifle and unintentionally discharged it, striking her brother in the head and killing him.

The
initial investigation indicates the victim and his seven-year-old
sister, Halee Clark, were inside the motor home that is used as a
hunting cabin when young Halee picked up a long gun. Jefferson County
Coroner Eddie Jo Marks says a round accidentally discharged and struck
Christian in the head, resulting in his death.
Marks says there were a few guns laying out and the one the young
girl picked up contained just the one shell that resulted in her
brother's death. Marks reported the girl immediately left the vehicle
to tell family members that her brother had been hurt. Christian was
pronounced dead on the scene.

Mulch says the initial investigation indicates that the recreational
vehicle is owned by the grandfather of the two children, Jason Clark,
Senior. He is also from Granite City.

The "vibrant, excitable," blond-haired,
blue-eyed little girl, who was bragging five days ago about learning
how to swim, was one of the 12 people killed in the Aurora theater
shooting Friday, said her great-aunt Annie Dalton.

"She loved to
dress up and read and was doing well at school. She was beautiful and
innocent," Dalton said of Veronica, who attended Holly Ridge Elementary
School in Denver. "It's a nightmare right now."

Friday, July 20, 2012

A 7-year-old child died tonight after being accidentally shot by another child, Claiborne Parish Sheriff Ken Bailey said.

An investigation is under way; however, Bailey expects the incident to be ruled an accident. “It’s just a tragic, tragic thing.”

The
shooting was reported after 5:30 p.m. at a home on Kemp Road, which is
off state Highway 518 about 5 miles west of Athens. The child was flown
from the scene to LSU Hospital in Shreveport, where he was pronounced
dead, Bailey said.

Neither the victim’s name nor the name of the other child, who is related to the victim, was released tonight.

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.

A 2-year old boy from Denver, Colorado was visiting his grandparents in Sandy, Utah, for a summer vacation. He went into the grandparents' bedroom, alone, and found a loaded, unsecured handgun there, and shot himself in the head, dying from the wound.

A woman and her 17-year old daughter were bothered by their neighbor's loud music, at a Houston, Texas trailer park. They confronted the neighbor, but a fight broke out with a woman there, then the neighbor woman pulled out a gun and opened fire, wounding the woman and her daughter.

The victims, whose names have not been released, were rushed to
Memorial Hermann hospital. Deputies did not release details of the
teenager’s wound or condition, but said her mother had a grazing wound.
Both are expected to survive.

Deputies said the women were wounded after they asked a group of
people nearby them to turn down their music. A woman with the
group began to fight with the mother and daughter and then pulled out a
gun and opened fire, deputies said.

A man was driving in Tulsa, Oklahoma with his 3-year old daughter in the car when he spotted a vehicle of his that had been stolen the day before. He followed the vehicle while calling 911, but the car thieves noticed him and shot at him, hitting the daughter in the foot. Three of the thieves were caught. The fourth is still at large with the gun. The girl will be okay, since the wound was a graze wound.

The owner of the stolen car was driving with his young daughter Wednesday, when he recognized his car.

Police say the man called 911 as he followed the stolen car.

Shortly after that, police say the man called back saying his three-year-old daughter had been shot inside the car.

Police believe the suspects in the stolen car realized they were being followed and shot at the victim's Honda Accord.

"Last couple days, we've seen people, what happens
when individuals have guns and things like that. It turns into a very
violent and dangerous situation," said Leland Ashley, of the Tulsa
Police Department.

Officer Pat Renz said a Bismarck woman brought a handgun to the
police department at 8:21 p.m. Tuesday, saying she found it in her
13-year-old son’s dresser. The boy told officers he and a 14-year-old
boy were walking in the area of North 15th Street and East Avenue F and
saw the gun in a center console of a vehicle. The car was unlocked, they
said, and they took the gun.

The boys contradicted each other
about who actually took the gun, with both claiming to be a lookout
while the other took it, Renz said.

Renz said the gun had not been
reported stolen, and officers have not found its owner. The boys said
the theft occurred between July 2 and July 6.

One has to wonder why the gun owner didn't report the gun stolen.

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.

The incident initially was reported as a drive-by shooting, but after
police interviewed the kids, they admitted they were horsing around and
one of them was shot in the eye. The injury is “relatively serious,”
McElroy said, but he didn’t have more details because police still were
investigating.

“We’re confident there was no drive-by shooting,” he said.

Police anticipate charges in the case because those involved initially lied to police, he said.

The article did not indicate the age, name, or gender of the wounded child.

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.

Three young men were smoking pot in Moreno Valley, California. One of them, 17-year old Miles Meulstee, was playing around with his .357-caliber handgun. The other boys told him to stop playing around, but Miles didn't listen. The gun fired, striking Miles in the head and killing him.

Alex Barner, 19, said Meulstee, 17, was playing with a .357 that Meulstee owned in Barner’s house Monday.

A
third boy named Josh was with Barner and Meulstee at Barner’s house on
Mendoza Road in the Sunnymead Ranch area. The parents were not home,
Barner said.

“Me and Josh both told him to stop playing around. It’s not a toy,” Barner said.

But the gun fired once, a bullet striking Meulstee in the head, Barner said.
....
“He was kind-hearted, funny, he would do anything for anyone, a great
friend,” Barner said of Meulstee. The two of them liked to skateboard
together and just hang out almost every day. They lived five houses from
each other on Mendoza Road.

Barner and other friends acknowledged that Meulstee had been battling drug problems.
A candlelight vigil was scheduled for Thursday night on Mendoza Road.

The article didn't indicate how he got hold of the loaded gun.

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

During an investigation of a gang member in Portland, Oregon, members of the Portland Police Bureau’s Gun Task Force and Gang Enforcement Team witnessed a 17-year old boy come out of the suspect's apartment with a gun. They followed the boy and pulled him over, but when he was asked to reveal the gun, he ran. Police fired a beanbag round and a live round. The bullet grazed the boy's right thigh. A chase ensued and the boy was caught. He had ditched two handguns in the chase.

East Precinct Officer Greg Moore, who had just started riding alone during his final phase of probation, was the officer who fired a single shot from his handgun at a fleeing 17-year-old boy after the teenager Tuesday ran from a high-risk felony car stop.Moore, who was hired March 24, 2011, fired one shot. Portland Officer Dennis Wilcox had fired one beanbag from a less-lethal beanbag shotgun. The 17-year-old boy was booked late Tuesday night into the Donald E. Long Juvenile Detention on allegations of four counts of unlawful use of a firearm after he was treated at a local hospital for his injuries.He was wounded by Moore's bullet in the right thigh, police said Wednesday.....The 17-year-old has a prior juvenile conviction for third-degree robbery and was on probation for a year, which ended in December.

Tuesday's encounter between police and the teen occurred after members of the Portland Police Bureau’s Gun Task Force and Gang Enforcement Team had been conducting surveillance on an apartment in Southeast Portland.

Unit 39 at 646 SE 148th Ave was to be the subject of a federal search warrant, stemming from an investigation into tampering with witnesses and linked to the pending felon in possession of a firearm indictment against Sid Willis, a Crip gang member.

While doing surveillance, Portland officers saw the teenager come out with a gun, "showing it off," police said.

A 4-year old girl in Detroit was having trouble sleeping at midnight, so the family put her in their car. The girl then found her father's loaded, unsecured gun in the car and shot herself in the thigh.

The girl was playing inside a parked vehicle when she found the gun and accidentally shot herself. She is at a hospital and is expected to recover.

A woman who answered the door Monday at the home identified herself as the girl's aunt and said family members were gathered at the house when the accident happened.

"She wouldn't go to sleep," the woman said when asked why the girl was up at nearly midnight. She said the girl's father and other family members were at Children's Hospital of Michigan in Detroit on Monday with the girl.

....

The owner of the weapon in Sunday's shooting has a license to carry a gun, [Sgt.] Stephens said.

"It's important that every person who is the owner of a weapon ... must keep it secured," Stephens said.

Neighbor Kelly Segar, 44, said she heard the gunshot from across the street. She said she didn't look to see what had happened because gunshots ring out in the neighborhood periodically.

She said the father of the girl who was shot is one of the people who looks out for others in the neighborhood.

"He is visible in the neighborhood -- he watches out a lot," she said, adding that she is surprised about what happened to the girl.

"The question I have is, 'Why is she up that late and why was she in the car at 12 o'clock at night?' " Segar said. "I'm glad she's OK, though."

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.

Monday, July 16, 2012

13-year old Rony Monzon and 14-year old Daneysi Valdovinos were sitting on the porch of their Chicago home when a man walked up and unloaded his gun on them. The boy, Rony, protected Daneysi, who had grown up with him. He was shot six times, including in the chest, arm, and hip, but has survived his injuries.

A motive was not released for the shooting, though the area has gang activity.

3-year old Jesse Adams was shot to death by his father, Carey "CJ" Adams, Jr., in Grifton, North Carolina.

The father was a felon with an extensive criminal record, including assault with a deadly weapon and felon in possession of a firearm. He was also separated from the boy's mother and had a longstanding domestic dispute.

First responders took 3-year-old Jesse Adams to Vidant Medical Center
where he later died. His father, 34-year-old Carey Adams Jr., also
known as C.J., turned the gun on himself after shooting his son.

Deputies tell us Carey Adams, Jr. underwent surgery to remove his organs and died Sunday.
9 On Your Side talked with neighbors who say they're shocked and upset by what happened.
Ben Gaskins says he couldn't believe it.

"It looked like New York City out here. It was fire trucks, police
cars, people still coming and then all of a sudden you hear a
helicopter."

Four girls were walking down the street after leaving a park in the Pullman area of Chicago when two of them, Tashona Polk, 13, and Nakia Turner, 12, were shot and injured. The younger girl was shot twice in the abdomen and the younger girl wounded in the buttocks.

An 18-year old young man, Jermaine A. Louis, turned himself in for the shooting, with the help of Ceasefire Chicago.

The two girls wounded were walking with two others when they were
shot. The younger girl was shot twice in the abdomen and the younger
girl wounded in the buttocks.

Louis turned himself in earlier this week. His surrender was worked
out by the man's lawyer and representatives of the anti-violence group
CeaseFire after the man's family learned he was being sought by police
about Tuesday night's shooting of Tishona Turner, 13, and Nakia Polk,
12.

The head of the CeaseFire group in the area said the organization
helped in the surrender after learning Louis' life may be in danger,
though he declined to elaborate.

Police said there's been an ongoing internal gang conflict in the area of the shooting.

Trinity Copeland confessed the shooting to investigators, the Times Union of Albany reported.

The newspaper said Trinity called 911
early Friday to report that her father, Harlan Copeland, had been shot
in his Troy apartment.

The two had been arguing over Trinity's repeated use of her father's ATM card against his wishes.

The teen told police that her father ordered her to kill him — or he would kill them both, the newspaper reported.

Trinity was arraigned on second-degree murder charges.

Another article goes into deeper details, and Trinity claims that she shot her father after her father threatened to shoot her:

According to her statement, after shooting her father, she opened a
window to make it look like someone had entered their home at 3022
Seventh Ave., went upstairs for help and then called police. Harlan
Copeland was found at about 4:30 a.m. and declared dead at the scene.

In
the statement, Copeland explained that she took her father’s ATM card
on July 11 and used it twice at a corner store in Albany, spending $122
the first time and $32 the second. While her father made a formal
complaint to Troy police and knew where the money was spent, he didn’t
know who spent it. He told his daughter they were going to look at the
surveillance tapes from that day.

....

“I was telling him I was sorry. I told him that I wanted to tell him
before he saw it on video,” she said in the statement. “He was like,
‘Don’t want to hear it.’ He told me that he was gonna kill me. He was
holding the gun and pointing it at me. My heart was pounding. He said
after he killed me he was going to kill himself because he wasn’t going
to go to jail for me misbehaving.”

She told police she begged him
not to do it and he said he “was going to kill us both or I was going
to have to kill him. I said I didn’t want to. He was like then I’m gonna
kill you right now. I said no, no, no, no.”

She then said her father gave her the gun and she took it.

“I aimed it and he told me what to say to cover it up,” she said to
police. “Then I asked him again ‘please don’t make me kill you, it’s not
that serious.’ He was like ‘I’m not going to say it again.’ I was like
‘why do I have to kill you, why do I have to kill you?’

“He said
either way he was going to die and he was giving me a way out,” she
said. “He laid back on the couch and I aimed it at him. He said do it. I
told him that I loved him and that I was sorry. Then I did it. I shot
him. I put the gun on the ground and looked at him. I said ‘dad, dad.’”

In
the statement, she explained that her father told her to put gloves on
before she shot him and she opened a window to make it look like an
intruder had done the deed. She then said she grabbed her father’s
phone, went upstairs for help and then called the police.

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.

11-year old Makalah Jones was in her home in Rome, New York, while her mother, April Donaldson, and April's boyfriend were outside on the porch.

A car drove by, slowed down, and then shot at least four times. One of those bullets entered the home, going through a window, couch, and refrigerator before striking Makalah in the face, neck, and wrist.

Makalah has now been released from the hospital. The shooter has not been caught.

Eleven-year-old Makalah Jones was in the kitchen of her Rome residence
Friday night when a bullet struck her cheek, exiting through her neck.

Makalah’s mother, April Donaldson, said she and her boyfriend were
sitting out front when a car drove by, slowed and fired off shots, one
of which went through the front window, crossed the living room and hit a
refrigerator before finally striking her daughter.

Makalah was released from a Utica hospital Saturday after being treated
for face, neck and arm injuries. But Donaldson said the incident left
her kids shaken and her thinking of moving from the 602 Park Drive home
that she’s lived in for six years.

“She thinks that it’s something she did wrong,” Donaldson said of her
daughter. “You know, she’s 11-years-old. She just doesn’t understand.”

Neither does Donaldson. And as of Saturday night, city police had not
released any information on what might have motivated the attack.

At Minnesota's 1,500 licensed child-care centers, guns are banned. Violators can face felony prosecution, with up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. The last known gun incident at center-based care occurred in 2004, according to the state Department of Human Services (DHS).

At home-based day care, by contrast, guns are restricted during business hours and must be unloaded and locked away. Penalties are uneven. Some providers who leave guns accessible in their homes are given correction orders but no fines.

In addition, parents who depend on licensed in-home providers are often in the dark about the presence of firearms because state law does not require providers to disclose whether they have guns in their homes. (...)

Several incidents uncovered by a Star Tribune investigation involved family members or acquaintances of the day care provider. In a 2008 incident at a Lakeville home, someone living at the provider's home set off an improvised explosive device that partially tore off two of the person's fingers. When police arrived at the home after the 4 a.m. blast, they discovered bomb-making materials and a shotgun.

Many of the violations involve providers who leave guns accessible to children. In 2010, a day care provider in Hector, Minn., left a gun propped against the wall of a bedroom where children slept. A provider in a Bloomington home was cited in 2008 and again in 2010 for leaving guns accessible to children in her garage.

Three states -- Michigan, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania -- require in-home providers to notify parents if there are guns in the house, according to a 2008 study by the National Association for Regulatory Administration.

Kerber said his agency will review Minnesota's disclosure policies after questions were raised by the Star Tribune.

Let's hope the policies are very carefully reviewed. There should be no ifs, ands or buts about this one. Small children should not have access to loaded guns-period!

As of 2008, the American Academy of Childhood and Adolescent Psychiatry noted:

Children and Guns

Adopted by Council on October 28, 2000 Updated May, 2008To be reivewed May, 2013

Children and adolescents have easy access to guns. Over 5% of high school students indicated that they carried a gun in the past month, and it is estimated that approximately one million children bring guns to school each year. Many students who carry guns do so because they are afraid or influenced by peer pressure.

The United States has the highest rates of firearm-related deaths among industrialized countries, including homicide, suicide and unintentional deaths; young people are often the victims. Gun violence accounts for over 3,000 deaths and over 15,000 injuries each year among children and adolescents. The rate of firearm-related homicides for U.S. children younger than 15 years of age is nearly 16 times greater than the rates in 25 other industrialized countries combined.

And the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, on their web page notes:

Where and when:

Most unintentional firearm-related deaths among children occur in or around the home; 50 percent at the home of the victim, and 40 percent at the home of a friend or relative.

The presence of a firearm in the home increases the risk of unintentional firearm-related death among children (especially if the firearm is loaded and kept unlocked).

Most unintentional firearm-related child deaths involve guns that were loaded and accessible, and occur when children play with the gun.

More than one-half of firearm owners keep their firearms loaded and ready for use some of the time.

Most unintentional shootings among children occur in the late afternoon, on the weekend, during summer months, and during the holiday season, when children are most likely to be unsupervised.

Rural areas have higher incidences of unintentional firearm-related injuries, as well as higher rates of firearm ownership.

Who:

Approximately 3.3 million children in the US live in households with firearms that are, at times, kept loaded and unlocked.

Boys are more likely to suffer unintentional firearm-injuries or die from an unintentional shooting than girls. Nearly 80 percent of children ages 14 and under who die from unintentional shootings are boys.

As many as 75 percent to 80 percent of first and second graders know where their parents' gun is kept.

Some 3-year-olds are strong enough to pull the trigger of many handguns.

Every gun in the hands of a child or teen must first pass through the hands of an adult. Kids and guns are not a good mix.

Indiana State Police Sgt. Jerry Goodin says the 33-year-old Martinsville man had brought his gun with him Friday to a home he was remodeling in Salem, about 25 miles (40 kilometres) northwest of Louisville, Kentucky.

Goodin says the man, his wife, their three children and a juvenile relative were at the home when the 3-year-old boy apparently found the gun and it accidentally discharged, fatally wounding the man.

Goodin says the case remains under investigation and prosecutors will determine if any adult should face charges. He calls the case a "tragic accident and a tragic mistake" of leaving a gun within a child's reach.

Every gun in the hands of a child or teen must first pass through the hands of an adult.

UPDATE (7/16/12): The man's name was Michael Bayless. From another article:

Michael Bayless, 33, was watching TV when his son gained access to the weapon and accidentally fired shots, according to a local ABC outlet. Bayless was pronounced dead on the scene.

No one else was injured.

Indiana State Police Sergeant Jerry Goodin suspects no foul play.

"We think that this is purely a tragic accident that happened," the officer told WLBT.

Neighbors in Salem are devastated
at the turn of events. Bill Smith, the owner of a nearby general store,
called the incident "a sad day in a nice family's life."

Police will continue to investigate why the weapon was within reach of a 3-year-old.

Friday, July 13, 2012

Tara Shay Johnston, 29, and her 16-month old daughter, Allison Sue Johnston, were found shot to death in their Oklahoma City home. The father was being sought for the shooting. He then turned up dead in Las Vegas, Nevada, apparently after killing himself by cutting his wrists and ankles.

Investigators in Oklahoma believe Johnston
killed his wife and child before flying to Las Vegas on Sunday,
according to Fox affiliate KVVU-TV.

"We thought the marriage was great," Tara Johnston's uncle, Bill Lisby, said in an interview with FoxNews.com.

"We didn’t see anything wrong ... He took
care of Tara and the baby. Allison was his pride and joy. He was really
liked within the family," said Lisby, who described Johnston as "really
polite" and "clean cut."

Lisby said the couple had met while working
together in a restaurant that Johnston had managed. The two have been
married for a few years, he said.

The man's father, Charles Johnston,
reportedly wrote on his Facebook page that his son killed himself by
cutting his wrists and ankles.

Police discovered the bodies of Tara
Johnston and her daughter after receiving an anonymous tip that two
people were dead inside the family's home near Oklahoma City.

A related article says that they were shot to death, according to the woman's family.

The coroner's office has ruled the death of a 2 year old California boy an accident. This awful story shows us again how important it is for anyone who has a loaded gun in the home to make sure it is not accessible to children and teens. From the article:

McCown says Tate picked up an Anderson County sheriff's deputy .38-caliber handgun on a table and shot himself in the head Tuesday.

The boy and his mother were living with the deputy, whose name has not been released. The State Law Enforcement Division is investigating the shooting because it involved an officer's weapon.

McCown says the deputy had come home, took off his gun and left to run errands. While he was out, the boy and his mother returned and the child picked up the gun and fired.

Every gun in the hands of a child or teen must first pass through the hands of an adult.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

A 17-year old girl, Emani Puckett, invaded a home in Anderson, South Carolina, with two men. They attacked the home owner, and a shootout occurred. Emani was shot and soon died from her wounds, her semi-auto handgun at her side.

The homeowner was hit in the head but is fine. The two men with Emani escaped, but their names are known to law enforcement.

The teenager, Emani Puckett, entered a home on Burris Street in west Anderson along with two men on Sunday night, according to a deputy’s report.

They had come to rob homeowner Kevin Pierce, 21, who was hit in the head with a handgun by someone in the group, Pierce told deputies.

Pierce and Puckett struggled in the kitchen while the other men rummaged through the house. In the altercation, Puckett was shot several times, the two men and Pierce’s girlfriend fled the home.

Puckett was found, barely alive, outside of the mobile home next to a semi-automatic pistol and she died hours later at AnMed Health Medical Center. Pierce was taken to AnMed Health Medical Center, too, and released.

The other two men fled the home, said Chad McBride, spokesman for the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office.

According to another article and video, Emani may have been shot with her own weapon after one of the homeowners wrestled it out of her hands.

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.

"The guy just started letting off a lot of gunshots -- pow, pow, pow, pow -- just started shooting," Shorter said. "That's all she heard. . . She was running and ducking at the same time. . . She didn't even know she was shot at first.

"One of the young ladies that was with her, she was wounded real bad," Shorter said. "She was stretched out on the ground."

Tishona suffered a gunshot wound to the buttocks and was treated at a hospital and released.

Nakia was hit twice in the abdomen and was taken in serious-to-critical condition to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, according to police and Chicago Fire Department officials.

As she sat by her daughter's hospital bed this morning, Letha Henderson said the girl was lucky the bullets missed any vital organs. She underwent surgery overnight, and doctors said there weren't any bullet fragments or internal bleeding. She was expected to return home either tonight or Thursday. (...)

Police say the girls were not the intended targets, and they were investigating whether the gunman fired on a passing car and hit them instead as they walked from Cooper Park. Authorities said the shooting occurred in an area at the center of an internal conflict involving the Gangster Disciples street gang.

"The gun violence, it has to stop," Shorter said. "These were grammar school kids, walking, just trying to live as young ladies. . .The problem of it is, you have gunshots, bullets going everywhere and the wrong ones are getting shot. It could have been anybody's child. Those are all of our children. It's pretty bad, it's pretty bad. I'm very angry."

The park sits in a residential area largely removed from the violence and shootings that plague the neighborhood east of Halsted Street, according to police records. The police beat that covers the park hasn’t had a fatal shooting since May. And the police district has had six fewer homicides so far this year than it did through the same time last year.

However, there were three other shootings in the West Pullman neighborhood just this week:

RELATED

• A 16-year-old boy was shot in the 12400 block of South Perry Avenue in the West Pullman neighborhood at about 5 p.m. Monday, Chicago police said. He was standing on the street when shots rang out, police said.

The boy was shot three times and was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, according to Chicago Fire Department Media spokesman Larry Langford.

Kids should be able to walk on the streets of our communities without fear of being shot.